Analysis

"The administration also needs to decide what it would do if the ceiling were not to be lifted in time—be it now, next month or at a later date. The least bad answer would be: keep borrowing. The president cannot state he would do so, before the fact. Indeed, he must deny it, since knowing this would lower his opponents' incentive to raise the ceiling. Yet, if it came to the worst, he would have to borrow," writes Martin Wolf in the Financial Times.

"The Beltway budget melodrama rolls on to its predictable and dreary end, with both sides now split over increasingly small differences. None of this is worth a partial government shutdown, much less the risk of a debt default, and both sides are looking like losers. Let's get it over with," the Wall Street Journal writes in an editorial.

"It made sense for other countries to embrace the dollar in an earlier era, when the United States was willing to act as guarantor of global stability. But today, with Republicans in Congress wielding default as a lever in a vain attempt to kill Obamacare, perhaps it is no surprise that the rest of the world is getting more serious about finding an alternative," writes Eduardo Porter in the New York Times.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA

Afghan Forces Fend Off the Taliban in 2013

Afghan security forces were able to thwart many attacks by the Taliban during this year's fighting season and didn't give up territory to insurgents, according to U.S. commanders (NYT). Still, Afghan forces took heavy casualties that some officials said were unsustainable.

AMERICAS

Thousands Protest in Brazil

Protesters clashed with police in Brazil's largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, after marching in support of striking teachers on Tuesday. Some demonstrators who appeared to be part of the Black Bloc organization vandalized businesses (USA Today).